Tonnes of garbage on the streets of Delhi have turned the city into a stinking dumping yard.
The garbage lying on the streets and residential areas can pose serious threat to the people’s health causing epidemic if not disposed of at the earliest.
According to city doctors, unhygienic condition around the city can cause serious water-borne diseases, increase bacterial infection leading to respiratory ailments.
The air in the city is already loaded with dangerous particulate matters. The nauseating stench emanating from garbage dumps poses serious health risks.
On an average, Delhi produces about 15,000 metric tonnes of garbage per day. Decaying household garbage which includes rotten vegetables, fruits and meat and poultry items and others is posed major health hazard.
Dr Vikas Maurya, Consultant Respiratory Medicine at BlK Super Speciality Hospital, said, “Asthmatic patients are at the high risk as the polluted environment will create breathing problems for people suffering from respiratory disorders. Not only this, people can suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, vector-borne diseases, viral infections too.”
Also, stray animals such as dogs, rats, cows can add to the problems of the people. “Diseases such as plague, cholera, jaundice and other bacterial infections can spread easily once stay animals will come in contact with exposed garbage,” said Dr Maurya.
Garbage dumps increases mosquitoes and flies making situation grimmer. Dr Atul Gogia, Consultant Internal Medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said, “Even dengue can be caused due to the breeding sites by mosquitoes. Food poisoning is the other sources of infection. Children and elderly people who have lower immunity are on the major risk of falling sick.”
People in the national Capital are forced to breathe in the pungent and foul smell of the garbage. Almost all markets, residential areas and slums have the same picture. While entire Delhi smelled bad, areas such as Vinod Nagar, Patparganj, Shahdara, Narela, Geeta colony, Okhla and laxmi Nagar were badly hit. It may be noted that municipal sanitation workers are on three-day as they are not paid salaries for the past four months. The strike may be extended further if their demands are not met. With garbage piling up on city roads and residential block, the national Capital is staring at an epidemic, health experts said on Thursday. The issue should be addressed without any further delay, they said.